Cricket legend Ricky Ponting has some advice for how the Australian team can win back the public after the ball-tampering controversy. In a word, win.

“Simple as that,” the 43-year-old former captain and all-time leading Australian run scorer says from Melbourne.

“One thing I know from playing a lot of international cricket and playing for Australia, the only way you get the public back on side is by winning lots of games.

“The Australian public expect a lot of their national cricket team,” Ponting continues. “Right now the boys have had some issues with behavioural stuff on the field, but more importantly they’ve had some issues with not being able to win many games of crickets either.

“That’s why there’s so much negativity … but if they start stringing a few wins together I think the public will start getting behind them.”

Camera IconFormer Test captain Ricky Ponting says the Australian team needs to start winning to rebuild public support.

That’s the sort of straight-talking viewers can expect from the Launceston-born batting prodigy turned hard-nosed national skipper, the marquee signing for Seven’s new cricket commentary team.

Earlier this year, Seven and Foxtel landed the rights to broadcast cricket with a combined $1.2 billion, six-year deal with Cricket Australia. Seven will show all six Tests – four against current world No. 1 side India and two against Sri Lanka – plus 43 of the 59 Big Bash League games and 23 matches from the Women’s BBL.

The long, hot summer of cricket kicks off today with a WBBL double-header from the Junction Oval, opening with the Perth Scorchers taking on the Hobart Hurricanes, and runs all the way through to March 3 next year when the Australian women play New Zealand in a One-Day International back at the same Melbourne ground.

“It’s a fresh start,” Ponting says of the mammoth deal, which means Nine won’t have the cricket for the first time in more than 40 years.

“Channel 9 did an amazing job broadcasting the game for as long as they did,” says Ponting, who grew up with iconic commentators Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, Tony Greig and co. as his summer soundtrack.

The game looks really easy on television. Trust me, it’s a lot different when you’re out in the middle.

Ricky Ponting

“It’s our turn now and we’ve got to ensure that we do the best job we can to promote the game and make the game attractive for young people to sit down and watch.”

Ponting says that while he’s worked with highly respected BBC commentator Mitchell on BT Sport in the UK, his friendships with McGrath and Hodge go back when he attended the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide as a 15-year-old.

“I think there’s going to be a really good dynamic in the commentary box,” he says.

“The way I’m seeing it … our coverage will be somewhere in between what Channel 9 did with the Test cricket and what Channel 10 did with the Big Bash.”

Camera IconHighly regarded English broadcaster Alison Mitchell will call the cricket as part of Seven’s new team.

Ponting covered the BBL with Ten for five years before signing with Seven, splitting up his commentary box partnership with Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, who will work for Fox this summer.

“Gilly was the first one to sign to Fox, and I had a big decision to make about where I wanted to go,” Ponting says.

The man known as Punter for his penchant for a bet explains that he wanted to stay loyal to David Barham, Ten’s former head of sport who now leads Seven Cricket.

“He’s a genius at what he does,” he adds. “I wanted to be on the free-to-air network as well. If I’m going to be good at what I do, I guess I want as many people listening to what I have to say as possible.”

Seven Cricket executive producer Chris Jones says that “if there’s a number one draft pick, Ricky was the man”.

With the commentary squad in place, Jones says the network is putting the finishing touches on the studio sets and technological innovations designed to provide a “modern and classy” coverage.

Camera IconAussie cricket fans will hope Shaun Marsh gets amongst the runs during the Test series against India and Sri Lanka.Picture: Getty

The biggest logistical challenge will come during 13 Mega Days when a day of Test cricket segues into a Big Bash match.

On Boxing Day, there’s two BBL games in Perth, meaning “you could effectively rip the knob off the television” and watch 13 hours of cricket.

“That is a big game changer,” Jones says of one network having both five-day and 20-over cricket. “Hopefully we can drive Test lovers to Big Bash cricket and people who have just come to the game (via BBL) back to Test cricket as well, and show them the beauty of both games.”

In the wake of Sandpapergate, Jones says that the players are keen to open up and Seven’s coverage will help fans “learn about these cricketers as people”.

“We’re trying to get greater access to the players and to rooms, and try to take the viewers to places they haven’t been before,” Jones says.

Ponting, who played his last Test in 2012, says that he would have been unlikely to welcome cameras into the change rooms.

“When I was captain I was always the first one against it, to be honest,” he says. “There should be a bit of mystique about what comes with the Australian dressing room.

We’re trying to get greater access to the players and to rooms, and try to take the viewers to places they haven’t been before.

Chris Jones

“But where Australian cricket is now, I think it is the right way to go, to be opening things up a little bit.”

The father-of-three and handy golfer says he looks forward to covering both Test matches and the short-format BBL.

“I haven’t done a lot of Test commentary,” says Ponting, who enjoyed covering the five-day game with BT Sport.

“I like to be quite analytical and talk tactics and technique, and often in the Big Bash there’s not enough time in the game or between balls to get your point across.

“With Test cricket you can start up a good conversation about technique or tactics or the mental side of the game, and paint a better picture.”

Ponting hopes to provide a deeper understanding of the game. Along with Fleming, Hodge and Katich, he has recently been involved with coaching the national side.

“We know the players intimately. We should be able to give people a bit more insight than has happened in the past,” he says. “I think the viewers should really enjoy that.

Camera IconHard-nosed former captain Ricky Ponting says he would not have welcomed cameras into the change rooms during his playing days.

“People who sit back and watch the game without having played it at a high level probably don’t appreciate how hard the game is. The game looks really easy on television. Trust me, it’s a lot different when you’re out in the middle.”

Ponting says his competitive instincts kick back in when he’s out on the field watching players warm up before the start of the day’s play.

“The thing I miss most about playing is the actual contest,” he says. “When I was batting and was standing at the crease, I used to lock myself in a one-on-one battle with that bowler.

“He had his ball and I had my bat, and we’d see who was going to win … That’s what I miss the most.”

Seven’s Summer of cricket begins on December 1 with the Women’s Big Bash League from 7.30am on 7Mate.